UMNOnisation of PKR?

[Note: Sorry for this late entry on� the� highly controversial PKR congress. I’ve been infected with� a laughing bug. Also, I’ve been� rather busy with a certain ‘project’].�

PKR’s high noon drama at its recent congress got everyone fuming. It seems the antics of PKR’s key players have done more damage to themselves than anything else. Umno may not even have to worry about PKR these days, at the rate they are inflicting self-injuries unto themselves.

The� power play,� unspoken but obvious to observers and members alike,� between two of Anwar Ibrahim’s closest allies – Azmin Ali and Ezam Mohd. Nor, has reached dangerous propotions, as you see portions of it spilling into the works of the latest congress.� I thought the latter wanted to concentrate on NGO work, but his return to the PKR fray,� may be a strategic move to� balance Azmin’s forces.

Is Azmin getting too heady with power?� He is seen as the one pulling the reins behind Anwar’s moves, like� telling� Anwar to ask Jeffrey Kittigan to withdraw from the contest, and the former complied.� � If true, isn’t this familiar? Like a certain son-in-law rumoured to be the pilot behind a certain jet plane.

The new line-up, according to observers are leader driven. While the� results of the elections indicated that the Youth section is still� under the influence of Ezam,� the other sectors are very much beneath Azmin’s wings.

A side drama, but a controversial one nonetheless, where the results for the Youth election was announced late, with allegations of ballots missing should really be looked into, and not to be left unchecked.

Other major� grievances about the latest showing include the marginalisation of ex-PRM and Chinese� party leaders. There are also elements of sabotage, for example,� voting against party leaders, who wants a more multi-racial team.

New-comer cum human rights activists and blogger ELizabeth Wong’s loss was said to be due to this.�

Is this the reward after Ijok, where PKR gain some entry into Chinese households? Remember what� the party election director Azmin said then? That many of the Chinese voters were not pro-DAP or MCA. Not making way for its non-Malay leaders in PKR is a poor strategy, and will backfire when PKR stands for elections, in Ijok or elsewhere.

All these also means,� a very worrying trend of insiders wanting to turn� PKR into another� Malay dominant party, ala UMNO?� � Or, is it PAS? Does the nation need another ultra-Malay supremacist, freedom-hater, blogger-hater, women-hater and keris-wielding party in the next 50 years?

Meanwhile, Anwar’s about turn from contesting for the presidency post raised many eye-brows. Why blame� the ROS for something already obvious? From the beginning, it had already been a political decision to contest, haven’t all the possibilities been weighed? And why write to the ROS for approval? Why create ruckus with the indecision?

Unless it is to create a sandiwara(drama) of the “victimised saint” again, to show the over-repressiveness of the system, but people do tire of these antics, and the result of such games, costly and disastrous.

Having always to deal with� credibility and leadership issues,� this recent debacle did not do much to resolve the question of trust often hovering over Anwar head, like a storm cloud.� Later blaming others like the ROS or even his lawyers’ persuasions for not contesting,� failed to project� Anwar as a� firm and determined leader.

Perhaps, it was PKR’s way of wheeling and dealing, to use UMNO as the� bogeyman,� to create impact and prove once again the BN government’s oppresiveness via ROS?

But� over-used� ploy failed to impress� the members, who are not fools already to begin with. A 55.8 percent (low)� turn-out� at the congress, when Anwar is the key actor, tells quite a lot about� the� party or Anwar’s ability to attract� its hard-core members� .

Too much drama and confusion also leads to low motivation. Participation at the debates were said to be� low key and speeches were uninspiring, at least to those who want to see the party push forward the agenda for change.

Looking back now, it was quite a bad idea to have party elections when the General Elections are in the offing. What a bad publicity, and it’s not even free.

From what I gather, I can only say that a steady process of UMNOnisation of PKR is fast� emerging.� The power struggle, factional fights, heavy reliance and� hero-worship� of one leader, high noon dramas and� the marginalisation of other races and minority groups,� have set the stage for PKR to be transformed into� the likes� of� UMNO. This is a dangerous momentum, and the monster we fear most.

But is this what members want?� It’s true that members may want Anwar to lead the party still, but definitely, not as a dictator. If they want a feudalistic party, led by a dictator, with all the usual pomps of hidup Melayu, there is eternally� UMNO, waiting with open arms.

At the end, Anwar said he would remain as the party’s de facto leader behind the scenes, arguing he could still be effective without an official post, which� left some observers sceptical, and this blogger feeling ‘weird’ (for doesn’t this mean dictatorship also?).� This also means his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who continues to be party president, is merely a puppet on a string (some would say, but hasn’t she always been?)

For example, political analyst Khoo Kay Peng told AFP that “It will be interesting to see what role Anwar will be playing, after all this”.

“He has positioned PKR as a party that fights for democracy, but he being a de facto leader is a mockery of democracy. “It is a political blunder on his part right from the beginning,” he said.

Its a disappointment to learn that the six years in prison may not have taught Anwar much in this aspect. We thought those many years of incarceration would break the chains of feudalism and old politics in his mind. But I guess, he may be misled by ultra supporters who gave him the wrong impression, making him feel like a king.

Be realistic. The people, especially those who support the agenda for total change, wants Anwar to oust UMNO and BN from the political landscape of this country, not to emulate them and turn the Opposition party into another hegemony of power, idealogically corrupt, feudalistic and very racist.

The PKR congress could have been better without Anwar’s inteference. At the end of the day, the congress was reduced to this:

“The absence of policy debates among the leading candidates means that there is little priority in making political competition as a way to sharpen policy innovations. The end results are winners come from those who show most `faithfulness’ to political leaders and not those `faithful’ to political struggles/idealism/people’s aspirations. It is really a replication of UMNO/BN politicking,” said a commentator from freemedia.com.

After this performance, can you imagine what it would be like at the coming general elections?

Read also some analysts observations in Malaysiakini.com